Classroom Connections Using Multimodal Artifacts

By Priscila Costa, Asiye Demir, Lauren Hunt and Julia López-Robertson, University of South Carolina

In our 5th and final post in this series, we would like to provide teachers with ideas for how students can respond to the reading of the two novels we have been discussing– All the Stars Denied (McCall, 2018) and Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree (Nwaubani, 2018). As you might remember from reading the first article in this series, we are educators with many years of teaching experience at different settings with diverse student populations, and we see various possibilities for the use of these two texts. It has been an educating journey for each of us as we worked together to design strategies that can be implemented in classrooms at various grade levels and at various contexts. Before we present you with instructional ideas, we would like to share with you some of our personal thoughts. Continue reading →

MTYT: I Walk with Vanessa: A Story About a Simple Act of Kindness

By Holly Johnson, University of Cincinnati and Marilyn Carpenter, Professor Emeritus, Eastern Washington University

In the last April MTYT, Holly and Marilyn discuss the not-so-simple acts of kindness as seen in I Walk with Vanessa: A Story About a Simple Act of Kindness by Kerascoët.

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Using Stories to Teach Life Lessons in the Classroom

By Asiye Demir, Lauren Hunt, Priscila Costa and Julia López-Robertson, University of South Carolina

Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani (2018) tells the story of a girl who was kidnapped and forced to marry one of the militants of Boko Haram in Nigeria. Through the storyline of the novel, we witness their living standards, culture and religious practices. Last week we talked about our responses to this novel and since we are a diverse group of people, our responses were varied and had different aspects. Our group is made up of four teachers who have profound experiences with English language learners and other diverse student populations and as such this week we will approach our blog from the perspective of classroom applications. Continue reading →

MTYT: The Day You Begin

By Holly Johnson, University of Cincinnati and Marilyn Carpenter, Professor Emeritus, Eastern Washington University

In the third MYTYT of April, Holly and Marilyn reflect on kindness through the lens of different picturebooks. This week, they read award-winning Jacqueline Woodson’s newest picturebook, The Day You Begin, which was illustrated by Rafael López. They also consider the order of this month’s text set and how to present these stories to a class.

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Patriarchal Societies and Oppression of Women

By Lauren Hunt, Asiye Demir, Julia López-Robertson and Priscila Costa, University of South Carolina

For the next two blogs our discussion will focus on Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree, by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani. This story is based on the experiences of girls captured by the extremist group, Boko Haram in Nigeria. Nwaubani (2018) writes, “since 2009, the terrorist group Boko Haram has been fighting an armed insurgency with the aim of creating an Islamic state in northern Nigeria. More than twenty thousand people have been killed and over two million displaced by the fighting” (p. 293). Boko Haram has wreaked havoc on Nigeria and its people, and the group received worldwide media coverage when they kidnapped 276 girls from a Chibok school. According to the BBC News, “Boko Haram was targeting [the girls] because of their opposition to Western education, which the militants believe corrupts the values of Muslims.” Nwaubani’s novel brings to light the struggles of the Nigerian people, especially its women, as a result of Boko Haram. Continue reading →

MTYT: The Day War Came

By Holly Johnson, University of Cincinnati and Marilyn Carpenter, Professor Emeritus, Eastern Washington University

In April’s MTYT, Holly and Marilyn chose the theme: kindness is always an alternative and perhaps the only realistic alternative for survival. This week, they look at The Day War Came to consider the tragedy of war, displacement and how to present these realities in a classroom.

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Connecting to YA novels through Song

By Julia López-Robertson, Asiye Demir and Lauren Hunt, University of South Carolina

Last week we talked about connecting with literature through music and left you with Un besito más a 2015 song from Mexican brother/sister duo Jesse & Joy that tells the story of what happens when an undocumented family calls the fire department. Although the song is from 2015, it remains relevant four years later. According to the Migration Policy Institute, in 2017, 44 percent of U.S. immigrants (19.7 million people) reported having Hispanic or Latino origins and of those, approximately 10. 7 million are undocumented immigrants (Pew Hispanic Center, 2018). Important to note, the number of undocumented immigrants living in the United States is at the lowest level in a decade. While the book deals with the repatriation of American citizens and not with undocumented immigrants, we drew similarities between the lack of humanity in their treatment. Continue reading →

MTYT: Thirty Minutes Over Oregon: A Japanese Pilot’s World War II Story

by Holly Johnson, University of Cincinnati and Marilyn Carpenter, Professor Emeritus, Eastern Washington University

This month, Holly and Marilyn discuss four picture books focused on the theme of kindness. In multiple circumstances, kindness is always an alternative, and perhaps the only realistic alternative for survival. In the first installment of April’s MTYT, Thirty Minutes Over Oregon: A Japanese Pilot’s World War II Story, provides another perspective on history that does not always seem kind.

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WOW Recommends: Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree

Ever wonder what happened to the 276 girls abducted from Chiko, Nigeria in 2014? World-wide attention turned to Nigeria as the terror of the Boko Haram attacked and killed many community members from the village, and then kidnapped the girls. As time passed, the story faded from our collective consciousness. Two female journalists, however, one from Nigeria and the other from Italy followed the story and gathered accounts from 57 girls who escaped from the terrorist group when government forces found and attacked it. Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani is a fictionalized account of what occurred with an afterword by Vivianna Mazza from Italy. Taking the accounts from those the journalists interviewed, Nwaubani now tells the story through the perspective of one girl who survived. Chronicling how the girls were forced to confess to a conversion to Islam or die and then treated as either slaves or wives to members of the Boko Haram, readers will be riveted by the short vignettes that authentically describe the horrors that occurred within the jungle camps of the Boko Haram. The narrative will also remind readers of the 219 girls who still remain lost to their families and community. Continue reading →

Authors’ Corner: Javaka Steptoe

By Anna Gerwig, Worlds of Words Intern

Photo Credit Gregg Richards

Javaka Steptoe is a children’s book author and illustrator creating a dialog between art and life with thought-provoking collages. Son of award-winning artist John Steptoe, Javaka finds inspiration in his parents’ artistry, experimentally blending ideas like his father’s retelling of Cinderella, Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale. In his 2016 picturebook, Radiant Child, he uses New York City as a canvas to challenge the perceptions of art. There’s not just one interpretation or understanding of a story, so Steptoe works to create picturebooks that connect with children from all backgrounds. He’s received various awards, a BFA from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and interacts with readers and educators at schools, libraries, museums, conferences and festivals. Continue reading →